No Law Justifies Murder

It's the legal justification that raises it from mere convenient political murder to shredding the constitution. 

You think nothing but torture will stop a hydrogen bomb from going off and killing millions of Americans?  Fine. Torture the motherfucker and then take responsiblity for your action. Defend yourself in a the court of public opinion, then accept legal punishment. But don't pretend what you did was legal.

You think executing American citizens without due process is the only way to stop terrorism?  Fine. Execute away, and then take responsibility for your action. Defend yourself in a the court of public opinion, then accept legal punishment. But don't pretend what you did was legal.

This is so unspeakably outrageous that it makes me wonder if the real reason Obama didn't try to prosecute the Bush/Cheney war criminals for war crimes is because he wanted to preserve the precendent they set.

For shame, Mr. President. For shame.

The Rude Pundit:

Now that a 16-page memo was leaked to NBC News that details the "legal" justification for targeted drone strikes on American citizens abroad, Obama-supporting liberals (like yours truly) have to confront, in vivid, concrete ways, the actions of a White House that, if a Republican were in office, would cause us to spew blood vendettas against those responsible. Oh, wait. When a Republican was in office, we spewed those oaths over the detention and torture of Americans and others. Now we're up to stone cold murder. We should be even more outraged. The fact that a Democrat is president does not change that.

The memo itself contains chilling passages - denial of rights, bureaucratic redefinitions of words, and the manipulative citing of court cases. Check it out.